From
saltwater and breakers, to red dust, and return to
the Maroubra Beach and Bondi Beach connection

Like many of you, I love nature, open spaces and learning
about the world we live in.

This
is my true tale of an outback adventure facilitated
by a chain of events, relationships, business, work
/ life balance elements and more.

Firstly,
itss great to be back on Sydneys beaches,
where I have a modest home office at Maroubra as well
as a business base at Bondi. Yes, I am fortunate.
In fact, in my line of business the world is my office,
much like a police officer you could say. No, Im
not a copper, but rather a media agent and internet
publisher, with a background in journalism and marketing,
and Ive been in biz for over a decade, with
my fair share of ups and downs  mainly ups.
Ive a survivor and veteran of sorts in the media
business, still rolling, years after many media businesses
had shut their doors. Many people have asked me over
the past few weeks what brought you back to
Sydney? The answer is a combination of things 
the ocean, business, the entertainment and media business,
and of course, good friends and family reasons. It
feels so right to be back on the east coast. Thank
you Bondi and thank you Bra (Maroubra).

Most of my life I have lived in beautiful places.
Grew up at Newport Beach on the northern beaches of
Sydney, a patch at Kurrajong in Sydneys north
west, moved to Maroubra Beach, then to Bondi Beach,
out to Alice Springs in the red centre of Australia,
and now back to Maroubra. No complaints at all about
the beautiful places I have called home. Maroubra
and Bondi rate big time.

It was 7 months ago when the time was right to check
out Alice Springs, having lived at Maroubra Beach
again for the lucky third time. The decision was not
a rushed one I was fairly fresh out of a relationship
with a lovely woman, business was down considerably,
and my favourite uncle had been telling me about The
Alice for years, having lived and worked there
for over a decade. Bill had been training me on some
software hes involved in via TeamViewer, and
the next step was to meet up in person and put the
training into practice in a business sense. I accepted
his business proposal re a technology project for
a major transport company in the region, and a few
weeks later I was assisting in the asset management
for a major Australian transport and mining operation,
where the balance sheet would often go up or down
$100,000s on a daily basis.

Alice Springs is big, yet a small town, as it was
described to me dozens of times. The population is
in the 28,000 region, and appears to be shrinking
on a weekly basis. Locals half joke that the place
may resemble a ghost town in 5 or 10 years, unless
there are some major positive changes on the way.
NT unofficially stands for Not Today, Not Tomorrow,
if you follow my lead. The locals got it right. You
read about Ayers Rock and the healthy tourism sector,
but what you might not know is that The Rock is 400kms
+ down the road, so thats at least a whole day
round trip if Uluru does it for you. Hugh Wolverine
Jackman quietly snuck into town only days before I
left the region, only to then trip out to Ayer Rock,
which probably doesnt need his star power and
buzz factor as much as The Rock, but you
cant blame Our Hugh for wanting
to do the fly over Uluru.

You
also may not read anywhere else that Todd Mall is
very quite as a general rule, unless you are visiting
the fortnightly markets. Todd Mall is pretty quiet
most of the time, except once a fortnight when the
markets are on. Some locals affectionately named Todd
Mall Todd Morgue, since many times during
the week the mall is pretty dead. Theres no
other way to put it. You get the daily group of tourists
going through, then theres off, and its
back to the usual eerie like quietness. The annual
Alice Springs Show and Camel Cup was noticeably quieter
this year than in previous ones, so I am told, but
the shows were enjoyable none the less. The Lighting
Festival certainly wasnt quite, rather the contrary.
Its actually an AFL based festival that sees
dozens of Australian Football League games played
at Trager Park over a few weeks. What locals, tourists
and local law enforcement also discovered was that
a number of misguided youth brought some trouble to
town with the festival, which resulted in a considerable
amount of rock throwing at cars and general mischief
making. Shop owners also expressed their feelings
that the football festival also brought an increase
in crime to the region. For some, the rock throwing
and series of break-ins and dramas in town in that
period was the straw that broke the camels back,
and they soon joined the masses that had been exiting
the sometimes sleepy town once and for all. Dont
get me wrong, Alice Springs is beautiful, but its
not for everyone. Most only stay in town for a few
days, while some fall in love with the place and settle
down for good. From personal experience I can relay
that most media and entertainment types will not stay
there for any great particular amount of time. Sydney
and Melbourne are Australias hubs for those
industries and its likely not going to chance for
decades, if not hundreds of years. I do believe that
road trains full of livestock and mineral resources
will still pass through Alice Springs via the Stuart
Highway in a hundred years, but Im not sure
what else. Think Mad Max: Fury Road meets
Australia (the movie), which a strong slant to Baz
Lurmans flick, rather than George Millers
production. I hope Im not being too harsh, but
the area is not exactly vibrant and thriving, rather
the contrary.

Back
to Sydney - I recently attended an impressive Spotlight
on Tourism business forum presented by Roy Morgan
Research, and while it was educational, interesting
and an outstanding snapshot of tourism in Australia,
the numbers on report graphs do not tell the whole
story of the economy or business health in Outback
Australia, or that of the significant social issues.
For that you have to meet the people and listen to
business owners and operators, the social workers
 you get the picture.

Something that was fairly surprising to me about Alice
Springs was the relative ease that one could get
a job (or a work project), if they wanted to.
I was of course doing my work project for the transport
firm, as well as keeping my media company going. On
the encouragement of my uncle I had a good look at
the business and work opportunities around town. Having
knocked on about 200 doors and spent a week researching
various jobs in the region via the internet I also
scored myself a role as Advertising Executive for
a major Australian newspaper in the area. So, a typical
day entailed walking Red Dog (Bec) and Blue Dog (Hassy),
suit up and pound the pavement (and sometimes red
dust) hustling business for the newspaper, return
to the home office, and then hit the computer for
the transport company. Essentially, I was doing 3
jobs, however this was not truly reflected in their
respective remuneration packages. Anyone who knows
me well is aware of my strong work ethic, passion,
drive and ethics in business. Within 3 weeks I believe
that I signed up any business that was going to sign
the dotted line. I also wrote up various news stories
for the town, which most of them found a home on my
own Media Man website in the Heard It In The
Alice section. This I had total control over,
as opposed to having to go through the regular editorial
process that occurs in a suburban newspaper, (such
as this one youre reading today).

A couple of the more interesting characters I met
with in The Alice would have to include
Andrew Langford, a white (Caucasian) Didgeridoo performer
who also runs the Stars Of Starlight Theatre in Todd
Mall. I see Andrew as one who helps bridge the gap
between white and black Australia, while performing
the instrument he loves, while also telling stories
of the dreamtime which were told to him via the elder
Djalu Gurruwiwi in Arnham Land. Andrews currently
looking for more gigs outside the Alice Springs region,
as the current economic climate there is such that
he has to explore performance opportunities outside
his base in Todd Mall. Then theres Thomas Mack
who I affectionately nicknamed Gumleaf Mafia.
Thomas grows and decorates businesses with plants
and decorations. He also falls into the eco entrepreneur
category. Gumleaf has recently returned
to Bryon Bay (as far as we know, or he may have gone
walkabout into the dreamtime). He is the latest in
a long string of business folks who have completed
their tree change, in return for a sea change. Power
couple Lee The Barber and Sarah (tattoo
artist and graphic artist) also returned to their
native UK, but not before Sarah completed some impressive
graphic art for The Alice Online  a side project
of mine. Yes, I do enjoy some moderate business dealings
with these above folks as you may have guessed.

Back to Sydney, and some of the positive experiences,
differences and other observations I have made. Firstly,
I dont have a mild skin rash anymore from the
harsh and dry climate in the NT, and dont get
me started on the hard water you endure while having
a show outback. I literally was waking up in the middle
of the night such was the power of the Alice Springs
itch. Fortunately I discovered coconut cream and a
range of Indigenous based heath and skin creams that
settled my skin down eventually.

On a business level, theres many more businesses
in Bondi, Maroubra, and of course in Sydney as a whole,
that have some budget for marketing, promotions, media,
internet campaigns and the like. Promotions and advertising
dollars are pretty thin in The Alice and
it was like trying to get blood out of a stone, with
the other problem being that the giant stone,
Ayres Rock, wasnt even in Alice Springs. Many
flights from Sydney and Melbourne go direct to The
Rock, and dont even stop at The
Alice these days. Sydney is noticeable faster
paced than all of the NT. They dont call them
Sydney City Slickers for no reason. I
dont like the increased in traffic, but I love
the increase in the amount of switched on business
people who are looking to do good business. It was
also interesting to be told many Sydney based entertainers,
celebrities and business folks that they are looking
to move away from past media agents and promoters
in Sydney, and that they are interested to come on
board with myself. Too much hype and not enough
substance has been a typical statement on a
number of promoters and media types in Sydney. Looks
like their loss may be my gain. Its nice to
be missed, in any event.

Some of my most recent positive dealings in Sydney
have been with various Chamber of Commerce groups,
as well as with media companies such as the one that
owns this newspaper. Hey, its true so Im
saying it.

Chamber of Commerce organisations and tourism authorities
are right on the ball in Sydney. All of my experiences
with the likes of Bondi Chamber of Commerce, Maroubra
Chamber of Commerce, South Sydney Business Chamber,
Royal Morgan Research and Tourism Australia / Destination
New South Wales have been nothing but positive. Even
when I was still in The Alice I contacted
the Bondi Chamber and Amy returned my call, and was
friendly, professional and glad that I had initiative
the contact. Kudos to Karen and her team at South
Sydney Business Chamber. Wonderful business networking
event at AttracTivity Entertainment, based at Alexandria.
Great folks, top games, a fun environment and delicious
food. Look them up. Roy Morgan Research monthly business
forums also continue to impress, and well done and
thank you to Gary Morgan and Michele Levine who were
receptive to my business and media ideas, as well
as listening to some strange but true stories of my
time in Australia outback. They were even up
for photographs, whereas the NT Tourism big wigs clearly
did not want me present in their meetings. They wouldnt
even take my $100 to become a proactive member. Sadly,
while in Alice Springs, Tourism NT never got back
to me, despite my numerous follow ups to them. NT
Major Events appeared to have a serious lack of resources
and / or desire to have contact with journalists and
media types in the region. On the 3 occasions I called
the major events company the suitable person was always
at lunch or in the field. The office never
returned the phone call or emails, so to me, it's
little wonder that Alice Springs tourism and business
is not doing so well. My documenting these issues
in The Alice probably wont go down
so well with the NT government, but hey, someone has
to tell the truth. This is a lack of accountably and
interest from many government types in the region
to anything about the business issues there. Dozens
of business owners and residents in the region confided
in me and told me the real deal, which tells a bit
of a different story that what you may read in a government
issues press release  no surprises there. Some
Alice Springs based folks told me that the region
is ran by Dyke Mafia and Lesbian
Mafia as well as Man Haters. Hey,
they said it, not me. Im just relaying the message
to the masses via a suburban Sydney newspaper. Many
of the tourism body heads in the NT were not receptive
to the local business folks, be it media, retailers,
tourism operators. There are big problems there across
the board, and Roy Morgan or the famed National Broadband
Network are not going to rid the deadwood and inherent
problems rural Australia currently faces.

On the subject of politics, how can we not give a
pat on the back to MP Malcolm Turnbull for catching
public transport to say money while also helping maintain
the publics trust. No Bull Turnbull
does not have quite the same affection towards helicopters
or limos, as did the former speaker, BB. Accountably
in local and state government  most welcome
indeed. Still, I must thank NT Chief Minister Adam
Giles for having the courtesy and gumption to meet
and speak with me, rather than giving a stone wall
treatment. MP Giles may not be Australias most
popular politician at the moment, but at least he
actually meets and speaks with members of the public
and business community. Yes, MP Giles and some of
his political team were out in force at The Alice
Springs Camel Cup. As you would expect, its
still open season on Australias politicians,
whether they are based in the outback or in the capital
cities. If MP Giles current leadership challenges
continue for too long in the outback he may even like
to follow my lead and trip over to the east coast
for a sea change. Nothing like some new territory
to campaign in MP Giles.
Before wrapping up, I want to especially thank the
Bondi and Maroubra community for welcoming me back
to the region with welcome arms. From the Bondi crowd
to the boys (and girls) at The Bra (Maroubra),
you have been awesome. Its also been wonderful
to reconnect with the Sydney business community. I
also want to publicly thank all of the nice and good
people I met while I did Alice Springs. I almost miss
the town, but I dont really miss the very slow
business place there. I sure miss Blue Dog and Red
Dog at the trucking yard, but they have a dozen other
owners who will feed and walk them, but perhaps not
with quite the same love and attention I gave them.
Those dogs helped make each day much more enjoyable
in the red centre than what it would have been otherwise.
Still, now I have the ocean, seagulls and have been
reunited with long-time friends and associates back
in Sydney and I know it my heart that I made the right
decision to return to the ocean.

I am also hopeful that my heartfelt and honest account
of life and business either entertainers or even educates
you  the reader. Writing it has been somewhat
therapeutic, and can only be topped by spending time
with an ocean goddess or a surf and beers with the
local crew.

If the powers that be ever do a remake of the iconic
movie A Town Like Alice I think I may
have a yarn or two to contribute. Likewise, Im
also prepared to share some more of my experiences
with tourism and business forums who are willing to
listen to someone who has been at the coalface and
in the trenches of Alice Springs and Northern Territory
business, as well as making waves from time to time
up and down the east coast of Australia and beyond.